10 questions emerging from the Chicago Bears week 3 loss to the Denver Broncos

3. Are the Chicago Bears asking too much from DeMarcus Walker?

When the Chicago Bears signed DeMarcus Walker, it was not looked at as much. Walker was a depth signing, and one of the key traits he brought was his ability to slide inside. So far, the Chicago Bears are using him too much, and they are not even getting the actual value out of Walker.

The highest snap rate Walker has played in his career is 52%, and that was in 2021. Last year, he played just 37% of the snaps. That was one of his best years. This year, the Chicago Bears are asking him to play 68% of the snaps. He is best as a depth role player who can clean things up, but the Chicago Bears are asking him to take on real starter snaps.

Beyond that, his best trait is cutting inside and being a pass rusher against guards. This year, he has lined up inside just 12.1% of the time. Last year, that number was 31.9%, and the year before that, the number was 37.7%. The Chicago Bears are not lining up Walker inside, so they are not getting much out of him.

So far, this has been an awful signing, but it is not his fault. Matt Eberflus is not playing him the right way, and it could come back to him being too simplistic because of all of the other things he has to deal with. The defense is hurting badly because of this.